Pre-tax profit in 2008 rose to £210.3m from £126.5m while profit before tax, which includes a £109m profit on business disposals and closures, doubled to £306.6m from £151.6m.

Revenue rose to £2,606.4m from £2,356.2m the year before.

The company has seen a significant growth in its order book, with the Natural Resources division leading the way with a 41% improvement in orders.

The company said it has a healthy cash balance and remains on the look-out for acquisitions.

“We continue to view the future with measured confidence. We have a well diversified portfolio of clients and services, and expect to see increasing net benefits from Operational Excellence, our performance improvement programme,” said chief executive, Samir Brikho.